Press Release
10th April 2000
Inverclyde's Young People Lead the Way into Learning
More young people from Inverclyde are entering further and higher education, new figures reveal. Of the 958 young people in Inverclyde who left school between August 1999 and June 2000, 58% went on to college or university.
The report, from the Renfrewshire Careers Partnership, says that Inverclyde "showed the most significant change from last year, with more [school leavers] entering employment and further and higher education."
The report comes on the back of recently compiled figures which show that the number of people in Greenock & Inverclyde in full time further education is 10.8% above the national average and the number of school leavers without any qualifications is 20% below the average.
Long-time advocate of continuing education, MSP for Greenock & Inverclyde, Duncan McNeil, has welcomed the news, saying:
"As I have repeatedly stated, if you want a more secure, more rewarding and better paid job, there is but one path - education.
"I make no apology for sounding like a broken record on this issue. A learning community is an earning community. Education is the key to our continued regeneration. We will never successfully compete globally for high-value, high-end jobs without a highly skilled workforce.
"What these figures show is that our young people are hearing this message and are acting upon it. They know that education is not a luxury reserved for the privileged - but a right for each and every one of us.
"I look forward, as the Scottish Parliament's measures to widen access to college and university take hold, to more and more of our young people continuing to learn and realising their full potential."
ENDS
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